Life Time Fitness Continues with Project Despite Contamination Findings

The construction of a new Life Time Fitness club in West Harrison, NY, will not be impacted by the discovery of contamination on the property of the proposed $40 million project, Life Time tells Club Industry.

Earlier this month, The Journal News of White Plains, NY, reported that some of the land on which the Life Time club will be situated is mildly contaminated with arsenic, lead, chromium and other pollutants.

The discovery of contaminates is not a new development to Life Time, says Karen Jayne Greenwood, senior public relations manager at the Chanhassen, MN-based company.

“In fact, site remediation has been an element of the proposed project from the inception of Life Time’s interest,” Greenwood wrote in an email to Club Industry.

Greenwood confirmed the findings of a May 4 landfill disturbance draft plan that was submitted to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The report, which was obtained by The Journal News, stated that a majority of the contaminated landfill consists of construction debris, household waste and sand, as opposed to volatile waste. The landfill will be covered by the 209,000-square-foot club or by the existing parking lots, according to the newspaper.

Greenwood also confirmed what the DEC told the newspaper, that the agency has approved the developer’s landfill disturbance plan and that the contamination levels are generally low on the site, with a few areas of medium contamination.

“No excessive levels of contaminants have been found,” Greenwood says. “Once this proposed work is completed, no ongoing remediation requirements are anticipated.”

Life Time agreed to purchase the property from media company Gannett, which owns The Journal News and will move the newspaper’s headquarters to another location in White Plains. Greenwood says Life Time and Gannett are reviewing closing documents related to the sale of the property and that the $40 million estimate of the sale is accurate. A grand opening schedule for the club has not been announced.